


What's A Life With No Fun?

by BridgetMcKennitt



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Dancing, Friendship, Gen, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-06-03
Updated: 2012-06-03
Packaged: 2017-11-06 17:33:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/421514
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BridgetMcKennitt/pseuds/BridgetMcKennitt
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Natasha spends some time teaching Steve how to fly and dance, in that order.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's A Life With No Fun?

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MaeveBran](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeveBran/gifts).



> Happy Not Prime Time! :)

The Avengers weren't quite official as a team, Fury still had a long way to go with the council, but Natasha considered herself one. So did the rest of the team as they each received the Avengers shirt Tony commissioned for them. She didn't remember taking a picture with the others, but Tony must have dug it out from the internet somewhere.

So when Steve joined her late one night in the gym, Natasha stopped punching her punching bag and raised her eyebrow at him instead of ignoring him. "Yes?" she asked.

Steve gave her a nod. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. I can go."

"It's fine, you are not bothering me." She hadn't known Steve that long, but there was no mistaking the tenseness throughout his entire body. "It looks like there's something on your mind. Want to talk?"

He shrugged as he leaned down to grab some tape from his duffel bag. "I was thinking about the fight we had against Loki's army. It reminded me a lot of the time when I went after the organization Hydra."

"I remember reading about that in your file."

Steve gave a small chuckle as he shook his head. "I don't think I've had the pleasure of reading your file. Most of it was blacked out."

Natasha shrugged before turning fully towards Steve. "I have done a lot of things in my life and none it bears repeating. That's not all you were thinking about, were you?" 

"You had fun during the fight." It was not a question.

"I did. Does that surprise you?"

"A little, yeah. War isn't supposed to be fun. When you leaped off my shield onto a flying transporter, there was joy on your face. I guess I don't get that. You're kind of hard to figure out."

"Well, I'm a spy. I would be a pretty terrible spy if I was easy to figure out."

Steve immediately flushed. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I've been told I don't know how to speak to women."

"Don't worry. You're fine. You are just out of touch with the world."

"Literally." Steve rolled his shoulders before nodding. "But then again, before the war, I didn't really belong either."

Natasha took a step towards Steve, placing her hand on his shoulder, and meeting his gaze with a smile. "You belong now. Come with me. I know something we could do that's fun."

***

"You call this fun?" Steve shouted against the wind. They were high on top of a cliff, dressed in gear so they could run off the edge and glide on the wind. At least that was what Natasha said what was supposed to happen.

Natasha flashed him a smile before hoisting the glider above her. "I do. Have you ever done this before?"

"No, I can't say that I have. Have you?"

"Plenty of times."

"The definition of fun has certainly changed since my time." He peered over the cliff looking over the plains below them. "Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Trust me. This will work and you'll even enjoy it. If it helps, pretend we're about to land in enemy territory for a top secret mission."

That made Steve chuckle. "I'm not always a soldier, you know."

"Then follow my lead." Natasha winked before taking off running. Steve ran after her after a moment's pause and together they leaped off the cliff.

There was a brief moment right before the winds caught her when her body felt like it was about to plummet to its doom, despite the fact that she knew she was safe. Natasha turned her head to look at Steve to see how he was doing. He wasn't freaking out, not that she expected him to, and he looked as if he had been hang gliding for ages.

"You're doing great," she shouted so he could hear her.

Steve gave her a thumbs up in response. They soared high in the air and Natasha let herself relax. There was no need for lies spun or punches thrown up here. She could be let her guard down.

After awhile, Natasha motioned to Steve to follow her so they could land. When they landed, Steve's hair was mussed up and there was a big grin on his face.

"That was amazing," he said. "I bet that's how Tony and Thor feel all the time. Thank you for taking me here."

"You're welcome." Natasha ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

"What else do you do?"

"I'm glad you asked. Fury has a mission coming up for me and I think you'd like it." She eyed him up and down. "I bet you'd look good in a tuxedo."

Steve chuckled. "If you say so. Sure, I'll go with you. Just tell me what I need to do."

***

The mission was simple as far as Natasha was concerned. The location was an elegant ball and Steve was masquerading as her date. She was on Steve's arm, she was right and he did look good in a tuxedo, and they were walking through the crowd. Violins and cellos played soft music through the air while people chatted around them.

Natasha patted Steve on the arm and he turned to look at her. "Don't look so nervous. Pretend like you belong."

"That's going to be difficult. I'm just a boy from Brooklyn."

"Who grew up to be a man who saved the country he loves during World War II and who woke up in a distant future to save the world from another realm. I say you're more than just a boy from Brooklyn, Steve." She patted his arm again. "This is going to be an easy job. All you need to do is look good while I sneak off and access their computer system."

"Are you sure you don't need back up?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Not unless you know how to hack into computers, but thank you for the offer. Why don't you try some of the hors d'oeuvres?"

"I can do that." Before Natasha slipped away, Steve continued on. "You didn't really need me for this mission, did you?"

"To be honest? No. I'm glad you came though. These events are boring without someone to talk to and I would have had to sneak in on someone else's arm. I prefer yours. Be back in a bit."

She disappeared into the crowd heading towards the back rooms.

***

It didn't take long to get what she had come for. Natasha had a glass of champagne in her hand and the USB stick tucked safely away on her person as she went looking for Steve.

Natasha found him surrounded by women and while he was polite, he didn't look comfortable. She pushed her way through and placed her free hand on Steve's shoulder.

"Sorry, ladies. This one's mine." She pressed a kiss against Steve's cheek before eyeing the other women until they dispersed.

"Thanks for that. I didn't want to seem rude."

She took a sip of her champagne before settling the glass on a nearby table. Natasha placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head towards the dance floor. "Would you like to dance with me?"

"I'm not that good of a dancer. I might step on your toes."

"We can sway back and forth, I promise."

"In that case, certainly."

Steve offered his hand and led them onto the dance floor. Just like Natasha had said, they merely swayed.

"I have a confession to make," said Natasha as she whispered the words against his ear. "Fury noticed you had been moping lately and wanted me to do something about it."

"It was all a ploy?" They continued to sway.

"I wouldn't call it that. It's been a pleasure to spend time with you and I figure you'd enjoy spending time with me over the others, at least right now. They don't understand the meaning of the word subtle. Are you okay?"

Natasha looked at Steve's face to register his reaction. He finally nodded before smiling. "I'm okay. It's been fun and our lives weren't endangered. I could stand to have both of those things in my life more often. So now that that's out in the open, did you want to do something else or is the mission over?"

Natasha tilted her head as if she was in thought before responding. "Well, this mission is over, but I'm getting hungry. What do you say we fly over to Brooklyn and you show me the best burger joint your old neighborhood can offer? My treat."

Steve laughed. "That sounds good to me. Let's go."


End file.
